Croatia tops a list of 33 European countries in terms of the impact of economic losses from natural disasters on the country's GDP between 1980 - 2015 but lags behind when it comes about the insured losses, Total Croatia News reports.

According to data provided by Munich Re's NatCat Service to the EEA, the annual average impact of the NatCat losses on the Croatian GDP was of about 0.2%, double as compared with the European average.

According to the quoted source, the Croatian finance ministry data show that the number of claims and their share in the national GDP varies from year to year: in 2013, the impact was of 0.1%, whereas in 2014 the percentage stood at 1.4%, 0.6% in 2015 and 0.44% in 2016.

The Croatian Insurance Bureau said that the density of property insurance in the country is of EUR 40/capita, while the EU average expense for property insurance is of EUR 150. In the CEE, the highest density for property insurance is recorded in Slovenia, EUR 140/capita.

Zavarovalnica SAVA, part of Slovenian re/insurance group SAVA Re, announced it has finalised the aquisition of the two Croatian units of the German insurance group ERGO, part of MUNICH Re: ERGO osiguranje and ERGO zivotno osiguranje.

After almost 20 years in the positions of member and President of the GRAWE Hrvatska Management Board, Igor PURETA will leave the company at the expiration of his mandate, on April 2. He will be replaced by Natasa KAPETANOVIC, member of the Management Board since 2010.

CROATIA Osiguranje's Supervisory Board appointed, on 30 January, Davor TOMASKOVIC as a member of the Management Board. Upon completion of the prescribed procedure and regulatory approvals, the Supervisory Board will appoint Davor TOMASKOVIC as President of the company's Board.

Ante Zigman, the President of Management Board from HANFA (Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency) was elected as member of EIOPA Mediation Panel. The Mediation Panel is responsible to mediate and resolve in an impartial manner the disputes between national competent authorities.

The gross written premiums of Croatian insurers totaled HRK 9.9 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) last year, up by 8.8% y-o-y, official figures show. The highest contribution to this positive evolution came from the life insurance segment and from the motor insurance lines.

SAVA Re was granted the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency's approval for the direct acquisition of the control ownership package (over 50%) of the Croatian subsidiaries of ERGO, namely ERGO Insurance and ERGO Life Insurance, both domiciled in Zagreb.

CROATIA osiguranje (CO) has announced on 23 January that both agreements concluded in June last year, to acquire through its Bosnian subsidiary the full ownership of the Bosnian Testing Center LLC and the CENTRAL INSURANCE company, are canceled.

Between 2008 and 2017, the Croatian insurance market saw an 8% decrease in business, in GWP terms. From an absolute value of EUR 1.32 billion recorded in 2008, GWP at the overall market level gradually decreased year by year, until 2015, when the market started to grow again. The positive trend seen in 2016 and 2017 was not strong enough to bring the market at the pre-crisis level.

The Croatian Insurance Bureau (HUO) has a new management since December 10. Slaven DOBRIC, member of the Management Board of Allianz Zagreb dd and HUO's ex Deputy Chairman, was elected as President. Hrvoje PAUKOVIC was re-appointed Director of HUO for a new mandate.

On April 1, 2019, Alexander ZARETSKI will step down from his presidency of METLIFE. According to the Company's Board of Directors, this decision was made for personal reasons. Gheorghe DIMITRU will take over as president, ASN wrote.

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